I Always Wanted To Be A Cop

Mrs. Sullivan then told me the whole story as to what happened. They were walking with him when he broke away from Suzy and ran to the pool. He fell in and, as Suzy went to pull him out, she fell in after him. Hans managed to scramble out just as I arrived on the scene. She said she was frantic and didn't think about anything when she thrust Hans into my arms as she left to accompany her granddaughter to the hospital.

"I hope he wasn't any trouble for you," she said as she reached to take the puppy from my arms.

Once they left, after thanking me profusely once more, I returned to the football game. As I sat watching I thought to myself that I missed the little guy's company.

Chapter Four

The Next Day

My next shift the following day was busy. A signal 4 (accident) was followed by a signal 3 (Hit and run) both before 10 AM. At 11 AM a signal 72 (found property) resulted in recovering a lost engagement ring found on the beach. Some young lady will be very happy if she filed a lost property report and can identify the ring.

"Bravo 6. Signal 17 (contact the lady) at 3111 NE 38th Avenue."

"10-4, Dispatch. 'Bravo 6', 10-51" (enroute).

I knew this address well. Mrs. Agnes Johnson lived there. She was a nice old widow lady in her seventies. Her husband had retired from the New York City Police Department more than twenty years ago and had recently passed away.

Sometimes she got lonely and just wanted someone to talk to for awhile. There was no way I was going to charge her with making nuisance calls to the police. I've tried to get her to stop calling the police, but so far, with not much luck.

Pulling up in front of her house I sensed something was not quite right. Instead of her waiting for me on the front steps she was inside peeking out from behind the curtains in the foyer. She opened the door and practically dragged me inside.

"There's something wrong across the street," she told me. "Bill and Shirley Thompson are at work but I saw two young men go into their house. They don't belong in this neighborhood. That's their car over there," she said pointing to an old beat-up Chevy.

"Bravo 6 requesting 10-94 (back-up) 3112 NE 38th Avenue. Signal 21 (burglary) in progress." I radioed Dispatch.

"10-4, Bravo 6." Dispatch answered.

I instructed Mrs. Johnson to wait inside while I went over to investigate the suspected burglars's car. The keys were still in the ignition, so I removed them.

Just then Charlie Drake (Bravo 12) arrived and he went around to the back of the house. I was just walking up to the front steps when the door opened and two teenagers walked out carrying pillow cases stuffed with stolen property.

"Ok guys. Put the stuff down and put your hands on top of your head." I instructed them.

"Hey, Charlie!" I yelled. "I've got two out front."

Cuffing both of them we searched them for anything they shouldn't have in their pockets. They both had driver's licenses identifying them as juveniles and I suspected they were skipping school. (In case you didn't know most residential burglaries take place between the hours of 9 AM to 4 PM when people are at work.)

"Dispatch. 10-15 (prisoner in custody). 'Bravo 12' transporting two to Juvenile Detention. Also, 10-70 (send tow truck) this location. White '78 Chevy plate RVD 116 X. Tow to in pound lot."

"10-4". Dispatch responded.

As I walked back across the street Mrs. Johnson emerged from her house and exclaimed. "WOW!!!! That was exciting!"

Praising her, I said. "You did good, Mrs. Johnson, real good. You did exactly what you should have done when observing something suspicious."

She beamed with pride and I knew she would now have something to talk about with her friends for weeks. Hopefully, she wouldn't be calling the police for awhile. Then I thought to myself it would be a good idea to come by and check on her a couple times a week. You know just to talk.

I went back to the squad car and began entering my report on my computer while waiting for the tow truck to arrive. All-in-all it had been a productive day.

That Afternoon

That afternoon I had just finished changing out of my uniform into a pair of shorts and a Polo Shirt when my door bell rang. I answered it and discovered the little girl from yesterday standing there holding a plate of cookies covered with plastic wrap. Right behind her stood an attractive, light colored hair, young woman.

As the little girl extended the plate of cookies I knelt down in front of her and she announced.

"My name is Susan, but you can call me Suzy like all my friends do. I'm four years old. These are for you. Mommy and I just finished making them. Mommy says I needed to come over and thank you for pulling me out of the pool. How did you know I can't swim?" She said all in one breath.

"Well hello Suzy. My name is Rick. Thank you for the cookies. Boy, there seems to be a whole lot of them. I don't think I could possibly eat them all by myself. Would you and your mommy like to come inside and help me?" I asked.

"Can we, mommy, can we?" She begged her mother.

"Yes, sweetie we can. You have to promise me you won't eat too many of Officer Geiger's cookies while I tell him something," she said to her daughter.

I escorted them into my kitchen, poured three glasses of milk and we sat at my small kitchen table.

"I guess I need to introduce myself. I'm Darlene Sullivan, Susan's mother. I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am for what you did yesterday. My mother called me this morning and told me I just had to ask you to come to dinner at their house this weekend. Friday, Saturday or Sunday whatever day works best for you. She told me to tell you 'no' is not an option."

Reaching for another cookie, Suzy interjected. "Please say you will come. Grandma is such a good cook. I just know you'll like it."

"I accept your invitation. What choice do I have when asked by two pretty ladies. Saturday night works best for me." I answered looking at Darlene.

Saturday

I drove Darlene's car Saturday after placing Suzy in her car seat along with Hans on her lap. Darlene's mom and dad lived in Rio Vista, an upscale neighborhood east of Federal Highway and a short drive from our apartments.

Suzy was right. Mary Sullivan was not just a good cook she was a great one. Over dinner I told them a little about myself and my life long desire to be a policeman. I was able to tell them several funny stories about some of the situations I found myself in while on duty.

"Did you ever shoot someone?" Suzy asked me.

"Suzy!" Darlene exclaimed.

"No, it's ok. That's a question I get asked frequently when talking with little kids. Yes, Suzy. I shot someone once," I answered.

Just as quick as that topic came up Suzy changed to her next question.

"Do you ever ride around in your policeman's car with the siren on? Can you take me for a ride in your policeman's car and turn the siren on? I think that would be really neat."

Just then Hans ran into the room and demanded that Suzy play with him. We all trooped out on to the patio to sit and watched the two of them race around the back yard. Once outside I managed to turn the conversation around to stories about Darlene.

It was getting late when we left Darlene's parents. I strapped Suzy into her car seat and Darlene put Hans on her lap. We hadn't gone two blocks when both of them were fast asleep.

As I parked Darlene's car in front of her unit I told her what a great time I had.

"Your mom and dad are really nice. I like them a lot. I had a wonderful time. Would you thank your mom again for me, please"

"I enjoyed the evening, too," she said, "and thank you for not asking about the reason for Suzy and my last name still being Sullivan. It's a sore subject with mom and dad."

"I thought about it, but it's none of my business. If you want to tell me that's fine. If you don't it's alright. It certainly is not a deal breaker for me." I replied. "I still want to see more of you."

I unstrapped Suzy from her seat, after giving the sleeping puppy to Darlene, and carried the little girl inside.

"I'll give Hans a quick walk while you get Suzy ready for bed," I told her. "I'll be back in around ten minutes. When I returned Hans scampered into Suzy's room and hopped up on the bed snuggling close to the sleeping little girl.

"Since I am working the day shift I get home about four in the afternoon. Would you like to go out with me Monday or Tuesday?" I asked.

"Yes, but I'll need to find someone to watch Suzy," she answered.

"That's not a problem. We'll take her with us. I'm sure we can find a kid friendly restaurant to visit."

That was the beginning of many more dates I had with Darlene. Sometimes, when her mom wasn't able to watch Suzy, we took her with us. We went to the beach a lot where I taught Suzy how to swim. Sometimes we took her to Birch State Park for picnics or Holiday Park so she could run around on the play ground. Truth be told she was a remarkable little girl and I enjoyed the times we had her accompany us.

When I worked days Darlene and I were able to see each other almost every day. When I worked the mid-night shift I was still able to meet with her for a few hours each day when she got home from work before I had to leave.

The 3 to 11 shift was another story. I hardly ever got to see her other than taking her to lunch a couple times a week and on my days off. This had been the reason my previous girl friend had broken up with me. She had wanted more of my time and didn't understand that my job and I were a package deal. Not so with Darlene. She said she was just lucky to have me in her life and accepted the shift work.

One night after coming home from dinner Darlene said to me, "I want to tell you about my mistake. When I was nineteen, and in my first year in college, I fell in love with a guy. I thought he loved me, too. He was the first, and only, man I ever had sex with. I got pregnant and when I told him, I expected him to be as happy as I was with the news."

"The first thing he asked me was if I was sure it was his baby. When I said yes he asked me what I was going to do about it. When I asked him what did he meant, he said. Well, you know, what about an abortion? I told him there would be no abortion. I'm Catholic and I don't believe in abortion. The baby didn't ask to be conceived and I wasn't going to end his or her's life. He told me that he needed some time to get his head around being a father and he would call me the next day."

"When the next day came and went, without a call, I went over to his apartment and discovered he had moved out, leaving no forwarding address."

"Mom and dad were not happy with the situation, but they stood by me and my decision. I never made any attempt to track him down. If he wasn't going to be there for me and his unborn child I didn't want, or need, him in my life at all, ever."

"I went to school right up to the time Suzy was born and then I went back and finished when Suzy was one. My mom would watch her while I was in school. When I finished college daddy gave me a job with his investment firm. As soon as I started working and earning a paycheck I moved into my own apartment."

"So there you have it. If you don't ever want to see me again, I'll understand," she whispered with tears in her eyes.

My response to her was to grab her into my arms and hold her tightly and whisper back into her ear, "What happened in the past, stays in the past. I'm only interested in the future. A future with you and Suzy in it."

One day several weeks later we took the Tri-rail to Miami and then the Metro Line out to the Metro/Dade Zoo. That was great day. It was the first time Suzy went from calling me Mr. Rick to daddy Rick. On the way home an elderly lady walked up to us and complimented me on my lovely family. Darlene and I looked at each other, smiled and thanked her.

That evening after Suzy had gone to bed I said to Darlene. "Sweetheart, that woman was right. We do have a lovely family and I would like to make it official. Will you marry me?"

Ten months later Darlene and I were married and six months later Suzy's adoption by me was official. For three years life was wonderful and then my world was turned upside down.

To be continued . . . .